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Cattle Run Farm is #4TheSoil

In the Soil for Water Case Study series, eleven farm operations throughout Virginia shared their stories and management practices. The project was led by Eric Bendfeldt, Kim Niewolny, and Katie Trozzo from Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension; Lee Rinehart and Mike Morris of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT); and Ernie Didot of Clear Impact Productions. This series aims to share how farmers improve soil health and catch and hold more rainwater in the soil using regenerative grazing practices. Thanks to farmers for sharing your time, experiences, and insights about regenerative grazing and soil health-building systems with us and the broader community! 


Each case study on the 4 The Soil blog will highlight the people and stories behind the operation. We are delighted to highlight Cattle Run Farm, LLC, owned and operated by siblings Sarah and Ralph Morton!


Farming in the Family


Cattle Run Farm LLC is a third-generation family-operated and veteran-owned farm in the central Piedmont region of Virginia. Sarah and Ralph are carrying on their family's tradition and expanding the concept of an agrarian lifestyle and business to the community. 


"We are all servant leaders; we grew up with servant leaders in our life," said Sarah. "The civic responsibility of using the farm to build community, but also we're using this farm as an educational and technical training tool." Cattle Run Farm provides training on chicken and pork processing, building raised garden beds, and efficient ways to grow food on smaller scales. 


Farming in the Community


"There's a lot of trial and error in this space," said Sarah. "Creating an ecosystem design to exude community is important for us." 


Ralph and Sarah joined with several other farmers to found the Minority Veteran Farmers of the Piedmont (MVFP), an organization to help support small farms in their operation and market diversification. 


Through MVFP, they started a Food Resiliency Program. Cattle Run Farm donates to several food banks around the Piedmont region, and Sarah highlighted the connections between supporting local farmers and people in need of food assistance. 


"Food equity is so important, especially on the protein side, because a lot of food banks don't get a lot of protein because it is expensive. But we found a way to write grants and go after some additional funding to support the food resiliency program so that all communities can have access to fresh and healthy foods that are grown locally," said Sarah.


Watch the video to learn more about Sarah and Ralph's stories, management practices, training resources, and the ideas behind Cattle Run Farm. 



More Cattle Run Farm Features



Fellow Soil Health Champion Shout Outs


 
 
 
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